Safari is getting an update to restrict websites that display intrusive ads. The engineers are currently working on the core engine of the Safari browser to reduce the amount of Javascript that will load on a website. They come up with this idea after seeing pop up ads on the rise on the internet.
The abundance of popups appearing everywhere on the web is partly due to the EU Cookie Law, which requires every website to display a pop up that ask people to comply with the GDPR requirements. Apart from that, many sites also like to display pop ups for newsletter subscription forms and pop-unders with ads content not related to the site. The following are the highlights on the news about the Javascript resource limitation that Safari plans to implement.
- Javascript Resources Limit
The Webkit engineers will set a constraint for the Javascript resources and give developer the option to select which resources is the most important. Most of these ads are based on Javascript so putting a limit on the resources will be able to effectively reduce the pop up ads. Javascript ads are known for containing tracking scripts that can track users’ activities. The feature will also bring up a new pop up when it reaches the allocated limit – the pop up will ask for your permission on allowing the site to load more ads above the allocated limit of the Javascript resources.
- The Move Will Force Developers to Optimize Their Codes
Safari is used by roughly 14% of the users worldwide. It ranks second to Chrome in terms of the user base. Therefore, the update on the Safari browser will surely prompt developers to be picky about the type of Javascript they use. They also have to spend time optimizing their codes so that the ads will run smoothly on their webpage without affecting other functionalities of their sites.
- People Turning Third Party Adblocker Tool
In the meantime, many Safari users have turned to third party adblocker tools to stop unwanted pop-up ads on a Mac. An example is AdGuard which can act as an extension or standalone software to block annoying popups, banners, and video ads. It can protect you from trackers that are widespread on the web. There is a parental mode which can help parents to determine which web content is safe for their kids to surf. Adblocker not only work on Safari but it can also work on Firefox and Internet Explorer. Not everyone like the ads of all websites to be stripped off. AdGuard has a whitelist feature that enable you to whitelist sites that you want to see ad. It can quickly identify advertisement codes and remove them without affecting the performance of the browser.
- No Confirmation about When It Will Launch
At the moment, it is only a proposal and there is no confirmation that they will implement it. Many experts in the field have provided their feedback emphasizing that it is not an easy task to carry out the restriction. It will probably be weeks or months before they will launch the feature in Safari.
- Chrome Planning on a Similar Update
In the meantime, the developer of Chrome, Alex Russell is also interested in planning for the same Javascript update for the Chrome browser. In the proposal for Chrome, limits are set for the different elements that load on the webpage. The new update on Chrome will put a limit of 1 MB for images. It will only allow up to 10 scripts to run on a page with a total of 500 kb allowed. This means that each script should be 50 KB. For long tasks, the duration limit is set to 200 ms.
- The Update Will Bring Positive Changes in Ad Serving
There is definitely going to be a dramatic change in ad serving and user tracking if both browsers decide to implement the restrictions. Anyway, the move will still significantly reduce Javascript ads even if Chrome did not proceed with the proposal.
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